School mentoring program expands

Attend the training session on Feb. 7, from 3-5 p.m., at L. P. Wilson Community Center in Windsor to learn more about mentoring. Courtesy photo.

The most precious gift anyone can give to another person is their attention. Today’s Smartphones, tablets and electronic social networking run serious interference with face-to-face communication, which most of us need and some need more than others. So when Mike Greenwood, the coordinator of Windsor Public Schools’ mentoring program, says there are no special characteristics needed to be a mentor – other than a willingness to share your time with a child – he says it all.

“All you have to be is willing to participate, show up every week and sit with a child, listen and engage in conversation about things you have in common – like sports, arts and crafts, movies or TV –  just to demonstrate that you care,” said Greenwood.

The mentoring program began in Windsor’s elementary schools nine years ago. “Mentors spend less than one hour each week with the same student through the school year,” said Greenwood. “They socialize, play different kinds of games and activities with the student, and sometimes read books.”

This year, the program is expanding to include students at Sage Park Middle School, kids of an age where a lot of changes, challenges and important choices must be dealt with.

“The middle school years can be challenging for a number of students, as they assume more independence and responsibility,” Greenwood said. “Mentoring is not just a feel-good strategy; instead, it has proven results for youth,” he explained. “Young people who have a mentor are more likely to stay in school and go on to college, raise their life aspirations, stay away from drugs and avoid fights and other behavior.”

About half of the students included in the mentoring program come from single-parent homes. Sometimes a parent has died, and the surviving parent will contact the school asking for the companionship of a mentor to spend time with their child. “That is really beautiful, when a family reaches out to the school system and says, ‘I think you can help me meet a need,’” said Greenwood.
And meeting needs is what the mentoring program he heads is all about. The mentor’s needs are also considered. “There is phenomenal support assistance for each mentor in the building,” said Greenwood, “and I am always here for questions or concerns.” At least one person, and usually two, are available to assist mentors, before and after their session. When the program begins in March at Sage Park Middle School, Vice Principal Mark Foley will be that person. The program will take place there from 2:50 to 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday afternoons.

In a desire to add to the dedicated core group of mentors at the elementary level, and to be able to offer the mentoring program to as many students at Sage Park Middle School as may ask for one, Greenwood has scheduled a two-hour mentor training session for Tuesday, Feb. 7, from 3 to 5 p.m. at L. P. Wilson Community Center, located at 601 Matianuck Ave. in Windsor. Here, volunteers will learn how easy – and rewarding – it is to mentor a student.

“You don’t need to advise or counsel,” Greenwood said. “Your regular presence and willingness to listen tells a student you care and you are there, just for him or her.”

Sharing time with a young person in the mentoring program has the added benefit of making the mentor feel good too. Just as, “it is often that special recognition which comes with mentoring that helps to make a difference in a child’s life,” Greenwood says, “mentoring also benefits the adult. A mentor is more likely to increase his or her appreciation for diversity, feel more productive, develop core leadership skills and just feel good for having positively influenced another life.”

Greenwood said that some of the elementary school mentors are looking forward to transitioning with their student(s) when they go to Sage Park. He also has at least four mentors who wish to take a new student at Sage Park, while continuing to mentor the student(s) they already have.

For a Windsor mentor application, to register for the Feb. 7 mentor training session, or to learn more about mentoring opportunities in the Windsor Public Schools, contact Mike Greenwood at 860-687-2000, ext. 266 or mgreenwood@windsorct.org.